Published: December 23, 2011
QUETTA: Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) Balochistan has set up a special cell to coordinate with families of the missing and those who survived after a boat capsized 90 km off the coast of Java (Indonesia) on December 19.
More than 200 passengers were reported to be missing after the boat capsized.
According to a statement by PDMA Balochistan, the desk at the authority’s office has been set up to help families identify the victims, most of whom belonged to Parachinar and Quetta.
The Hazara community has claimed that at least 70 people who belonged to Quetta were on board the boat when it capsized.
“Around 30 people have been rescued, while 40 are missing,” relatives said on the condition of anonymity.
PDMA has requested the families to provide the relevant details of the victims, including photos and copies of CNICs.
Express Tribune
Friday, December 23, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Mengal’s timely warning
By Imtiaz Gul
Published: December 21, 2011
The writer is the executive director of the independent Centre for Research and Security Studies, and a fellow of International House of Japan/Japan Foundation, Tokyo
The Veteran Baloch nationalist, Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal’s warning that atrocities against the Baloch have pushed the situation to a “point of no return” is timely. After his meeting with Nawaz Sharif in Karachi on December 19, Mengal came down hard on the Pakistani security establishment, holding ‘the Punjabi army’ responsible for inhuman acts against the Baloch people.
“The Baloch youth don’t want a Pakistan in which they receive mutilated bodies of their compatriots … they are being systematically eliminated and forced to seek refuge in the mountains,” said the former chief minister of Balochistan and the founding chief of the Balochistan National Party.
Mengal also accused Interior Minister Rehman Malik of hurling threats at the Baloch in the same way former president General Musharraf did. While many in Pakistan might dismiss part of Mengal’s loaded criticism of the centre and the army, the multiple crises in Balochistan do merit serious and urgent consideration.
There is little doubt that Balochistan is most probably as much a microcosm of Pakistan’s security and political crisis as is Fata. Almost 450 murders since January so far; dozens of abductions and hundreds of attacks on key security and utility installations suggest that the province is currently going through one of the worst political, economic and security crises in its history.
The growing influence of religious extremists in the province is noticeable from the fact that the highest number of attacks on Nato supplies were carried out in Balochistan during the last four years, apparently by Taliban or pro-Taliban elements. The unusual number of target killings of Hazaras also bears testimony to the increased involvement in sectarian terrorism of outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Most Pakistani security agencies, officials and people at large, usually suspect external forces such as Afghanistan, the US and India of stoking and supporting nationalist violence to allegedly force Pakistan to accept their demands, which include serious tackling of organisations such as the so-called Quetta Shura and the Haqqani network, and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Based on the trends the Centre for Research and Security Studies observed since January this year, one could probably narrow down the current wave of violence in Balochistan to four key categories i.e. Baloch separatists, sectarian, external and internal forces (security agencies). All of them are so intricately intertwined that no easy deduction is possible to pinpoint the culprits behind most violent incidences.
Sectarian violence, the data suggests, claimed the second highest number of deaths after those caused by the nationalist militancy during the period starting from 2003 to December 2011. Shia were the primary victims of sectarian attacks and a majority of these attacks occurred in Quetta (237) and Jhal Magsi (36). Hindus were also affected by this violence, which forced them to migrate to other parts of the province or the country. Suicide attacks were the major cause of death (150) followed by non-suicide fatal attacks (114) and bombings (10). Officially banned organisations, mainly the Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, were the ones that often claimed responsibility for such attacks and the minority Hazara community living in the region was the major victim of this violence.
Dr Malik Baloch, a balanced nationalist leader, also draws attention to the alarming circumstances that currently prevail in Balochistan. He, too, dismisses the Balochistan package, scorns the predominance of the security forces in governance and security matters and considers them to be a major source of discontent among the Baloch people in particular. Despite all these misgivings, Dr Baloch still pretends to be optimistic. Speaking at a seminar in Islamabad recently, he said that the dominant majority of the Baloch people are probably still pro-federation if their bruised egos are assuaged. The present provincial parliament, he said, had lost its relevance and only a fresh mandate could probably help restore the trust of the Baloch in the political system, which is leaking and creaking under misgovernance, violence and apathy of rulers.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2011.
Published: December 21, 2011
The Veteran Baloch nationalist, Sardar Ataullah Khan Mengal’s warning that atrocities against the Baloch have pushed the situation to a “point of no return” is timely. After his meeting with Nawaz Sharif in Karachi on December 19, Mengal came down hard on the Pakistani security establishment, holding ‘the Punjabi army’ responsible for inhuman acts against the Baloch people.
“The Baloch youth don’t want a Pakistan in which they receive mutilated bodies of their compatriots … they are being systematically eliminated and forced to seek refuge in the mountains,” said the former chief minister of Balochistan and the founding chief of the Balochistan National Party.
Mengal also accused Interior Minister Rehman Malik of hurling threats at the Baloch in the same way former president General Musharraf did. While many in Pakistan might dismiss part of Mengal’s loaded criticism of the centre and the army, the multiple crises in Balochistan do merit serious and urgent consideration.
There is little doubt that Balochistan is most probably as much a microcosm of Pakistan’s security and political crisis as is Fata. Almost 450 murders since January so far; dozens of abductions and hundreds of attacks on key security and utility installations suggest that the province is currently going through one of the worst political, economic and security crises in its history.
The growing influence of religious extremists in the province is noticeable from the fact that the highest number of attacks on Nato supplies were carried out in Balochistan during the last four years, apparently by Taliban or pro-Taliban elements. The unusual number of target killings of Hazaras also bears testimony to the increased involvement in sectarian terrorism of outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. Most Pakistani security agencies, officials and people at large, usually suspect external forces such as Afghanistan, the US and India of stoking and supporting nationalist violence to allegedly force Pakistan to accept their demands, which include serious tackling of organisations such as the so-called Quetta Shura and the Haqqani network, and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.
Based on the trends the Centre for Research and Security Studies observed since January this year, one could probably narrow down the current wave of violence in Balochistan to four key categories i.e. Baloch separatists, sectarian, external and internal forces (security agencies). All of them are so intricately intertwined that no easy deduction is possible to pinpoint the culprits behind most violent incidences.
Sectarian violence, the data suggests, claimed the second highest number of deaths after those caused by the nationalist militancy during the period starting from 2003 to December 2011. Shia were the primary victims of sectarian attacks and a majority of these attacks occurred in Quetta (237) and Jhal Magsi (36). Hindus were also affected by this violence, which forced them to migrate to other parts of the province or the country. Suicide attacks were the major cause of death (150) followed by non-suicide fatal attacks (114) and bombings (10). Officially banned organisations, mainly the Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, were the ones that often claimed responsibility for such attacks and the minority Hazara community living in the region was the major victim of this violence.
Dr Malik Baloch, a balanced nationalist leader, also draws attention to the alarming circumstances that currently prevail in Balochistan. He, too, dismisses the Balochistan package, scorns the predominance of the security forces in governance and security matters and considers them to be a major source of discontent among the Baloch people in particular. Despite all these misgivings, Dr Baloch still pretends to be optimistic. Speaking at a seminar in Islamabad recently, he said that the dominant majority of the Baloch people are probably still pro-federation if their bruised egos are assuaged. The present provincial parliament, he said, had lost its relevance and only a fresh mandate could probably help restore the trust of the Baloch in the political system, which is leaking and creaking under misgovernance, violence and apathy of rulers.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 22nd, 2011.
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demands urgent Govt action after Indonesia boat tragedy
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Commission said: “HRCP is saddened by the tragedy in Indonesian waters where the crew of a boat carrying around 170 Pakistanis as well as another 80 people of other nationalities
Lahore, December 20: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed deep sorrow at the death of at least 55 young men from Quetta’s Hazara community when a boat carrying around 250 people, 170 of them from Pakistan, capsized off Indonesia. HRCP has called upon Islamabad to help the families learn about the fate of the passengers as well as urgently address reasons that force Hazaras and other people from Balochistan to leave Pakistan even in the face of grave danger to their lives.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Commission said: “HRCP is saddened by the tragedy in Indonesian waters where the crew of a boat carrying around 170 Pakistanis as well as another 80 people of other nationalities, abandoned their passengers as the boat capsized in a fierce storm. At least 55 Hazaras from Quetta are believed to be dead and scores of Pakistanis remain missing. The passengers included over 70 youth from Quetta’s Hazara community. That the Hazara young men chose to leave Pakistan by taking such grave risks is a measure of the persecution the Hazara community has long faced in Balochistan. Other Pakistani passengers, also from Balochistan, were believed to be unemployed young men looking for a way to improve their life as well as businessmen who felt insecure amid growing incidents of kidnappings for ransom in the province, particularly in Quetta.
HRCP sympathises with the bereaved families and would investigate the matter further. As the identities of those who have drowned and others who are still missing remain unknown, the anxieties of the families in Pakistan are beyond description. Irrespective of how the young men ended up in Indonesian waters, the government must immediately facilitate the families’ access to information about the fate of their loved ones, ensure that the survivors get help and the recovered bodies are brought home.
HRCP also calls upon the government to take a long hard look at the state of affairs in Balochistan and reflect on the reasons that compel young men to take such grave risks in order to escape persecution, insecurity and poverty. The government must also identify and punish those who contributed to the death of the boat’s passengers by illegally ferrying them across borders. In view of its obligation to protect the lives of all citizens, the government must also take urgent steps to find a way to put an end to the persecution of the long suffering Hazara community.”
Zohra Yusuf
Chairperson
HRCP
Lahore, December 20: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed deep sorrow at the death of at least 55 young men from Quetta’s Hazara community when a boat carrying around 250 people, 170 of them from Pakistan, capsized off Indonesia. HRCP has called upon Islamabad to help the families learn about the fate of the passengers as well as urgently address reasons that force Hazaras and other people from Balochistan to leave Pakistan even in the face of grave danger to their lives.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Commission said: “HRCP is saddened by the tragedy in Indonesian waters where the crew of a boat carrying around 170 Pakistanis as well as another 80 people of other nationalities, abandoned their passengers as the boat capsized in a fierce storm. At least 55 Hazaras from Quetta are believed to be dead and scores of Pakistanis remain missing. The passengers included over 70 youth from Quetta’s Hazara community. That the Hazara young men chose to leave Pakistan by taking such grave risks is a measure of the persecution the Hazara community has long faced in Balochistan. Other Pakistani passengers, also from Balochistan, were believed to be unemployed young men looking for a way to improve their life as well as businessmen who felt insecure amid growing incidents of kidnappings for ransom in the province, particularly in Quetta.
HRCP sympathises with the bereaved families and would investigate the matter further. As the identities of those who have drowned and others who are still missing remain unknown, the anxieties of the families in Pakistan are beyond description. Irrespective of how the young men ended up in Indonesian waters, the government must immediately facilitate the families’ access to information about the fate of their loved ones, ensure that the survivors get help and the recovered bodies are brought home.
HRCP also calls upon the government to take a long hard look at the state of affairs in Balochistan and reflect on the reasons that compel young men to take such grave risks in order to escape persecution, insecurity and poverty. The government must also identify and punish those who contributed to the death of the boat’s passengers by illegally ferrying them across borders. In view of its obligation to protect the lives of all citizens, the government must also take urgent steps to find a way to put an end to the persecution of the long suffering Hazara community.”
Zohra Yusuf
Chairperson
HRCP
’کشتی الٹنے کا سانحہ توجہ کا متقاضی‘
پاکستان کمیشن برائے انسانی حقوق نے انڈونیشیا میں کشتی الٹنے کے نتیجے میں کوئٹہ کی ہزارہ برادری کے کم از کم پچپن نوجوانوں کی موت پر گہرے دکھ کا اظہار کیا ہے اور حکومت سے مطالبہ کیا ہے کہ ان افراد کے خلاف کارروائی کی جائے جنہوں نے ان نوجوانوں کو غیرقانونی طور پر کشتی پر سوار کرایا۔
حقوق انسانی کمیشن کی جانب سے جاری ہونے والے ایک بیان میں کہا گیا ہے کہ حادثہ کا شکار ہونے والی کشتی میں پچپن افراد سوار تھے جن میں ایک سو ستّر پاکستانی شہری تھے۔
اسی بارے میں
انڈونیشیا سانحہ: پچپن افراد کا تعلق کوئٹہ سے
انسانی حقوق کمیشن نے حکام سے مطالبہ کیا ہے کہ وہ مرنے اور زندہ بچ جانے والے مسافروں سے متعلق معلومات کے حصول میں ان کے اہل خانہ کی فوری مدد کریں اور ان وجوہات کا سدباب کریں جن کے باعث ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے افراد اپنی زندگی خطرے میں ڈالتے ہوئے پاکستان چھوڑنے پر مجبور ہوئے۔
انسانی حقوق کمیشن کے مطابق’ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے نوجوانوں نے جس طرح سنگین خطرہ مول لیتے ہوئے پاکستان چھوڑنے کا فیصلہ کیا، اس سے بلوچستان میں ان پر ڈھائے جانے والے مظالم کی شدت کا اندازہ لگایا جا سکتا ہے۔‘
تنظیم کے مطابق دیگر مسافروں جن کا تعلق بلوچستان سے تھا، بیروزگار تھے اور اپنے حالات بہتر کرنے کی کوشش میں ملک چھوڑ رہے ہیں اور چند تاجر جو صوبے، بالخصوص کوئٹہ میں اغواء برائے تاوان کے بڑھتے ہوئے واقعات کے نتیجے میں یہاں خود کو غیر محفوظ تصور کرتے ہیں۔
بلوچستان کے حالات
"ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے نوجوانوں نے جس طرح سنگین خطرہ مول لیتے ہوئے پاکستان چھوڑنے کا فیصلہ کیا، اس سے بلوچستان میں ان پر ڈھائے جانے والے مظالم کی شدت کا اندازہ لگایا جا سکتا ہے"
ایچ آر سی پی
انسانی حقوق کمیشن کا کہنا ہے کہ کشتی کے عملے نے تقریباً ایک سو ستّر پاکستانیوں اور دیگر ممالک کے اسّی افراد کو اس وقت بے یارو مددگار چھوڑ دیا جب کشتی ایک شدید طوفان میں الٹ گئی۔
اس واقعے میں ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے کم از کم پچپن افراد ہلاک اور دیگر درجنوں پاکستانی لاپتہ ہیں۔
کمیشن نے اپنے بیان میں کہا ’حکومت، بلوچستان کے معاملات پر سنجیدگی سے تفصیلی نظر ڈالے اور ان اسباب کا خاتمہ کرے جن کے باعث نوجوان ظلم، عدم تحفظ ارو غربت سے بچنے کے لیے سنگین خطرات مول لے کر وطن چھوڑنے پر مجبور رہے ہیں۔‘
تنظیم کے مطابق حکومت کو ان لوگوں کی بھی شناخت کر کے ان کے خلاف قانونی کارروائی کرنی چاہیے جنہوں نے کشتی پر سوار مسافروں کو غیر قانونی طریقے سے بین الاقوامی سرحدیں پار کروائیں اور ان کی موت کا سبب بنے۔
’تمام شہریوں کی زندگی کو تحفظ فراہم کرنے کے لیے اپنے فرض کا ادارک کرتے ہوئے، حکومت کو فی الفور ہزارہ برادری پر ہونے والے ظلم کے سدباب کی راہیں بھی نکالنی چاہیے۔‘
اس کے علاوہ تنظیم نے متاثرہ خاندانوں سے اظہار ہمدردی کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اس حقیقت سے قطع نظر کہ انڈونیشیا کے سمندر میں یہ نوجوان کیسے پہنچے، حکومت کو فوری طور پر متاثرہ خاندانوں کو اپنے پیاروں سے متعلق معلومات کی فراہمی ممکن بنانی چاہیے جب کہ زندہ بچ جانے والوں کی مدد کرنی چاہیے اور لاشوں کو وطن واپس لانے کا انتظام کرنا چاہیے۔
BBC URDU
حقوق انسانی کمیشن کی جانب سے جاری ہونے والے ایک بیان میں کہا گیا ہے کہ حادثہ کا شکار ہونے والی کشتی میں پچپن افراد سوار تھے جن میں ایک سو ستّر پاکستانی شہری تھے۔
اسی بارے میں
انڈونیشیا سانحہ: پچپن افراد کا تعلق کوئٹہ سے
انسانی حقوق کمیشن نے حکام سے مطالبہ کیا ہے کہ وہ مرنے اور زندہ بچ جانے والے مسافروں سے متعلق معلومات کے حصول میں ان کے اہل خانہ کی فوری مدد کریں اور ان وجوہات کا سدباب کریں جن کے باعث ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے افراد اپنی زندگی خطرے میں ڈالتے ہوئے پاکستان چھوڑنے پر مجبور ہوئے۔
انسانی حقوق کمیشن کے مطابق’ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے نوجوانوں نے جس طرح سنگین خطرہ مول لیتے ہوئے پاکستان چھوڑنے کا فیصلہ کیا، اس سے بلوچستان میں ان پر ڈھائے جانے والے مظالم کی شدت کا اندازہ لگایا جا سکتا ہے۔‘
تنظیم کے مطابق دیگر مسافروں جن کا تعلق بلوچستان سے تھا، بیروزگار تھے اور اپنے حالات بہتر کرنے کی کوشش میں ملک چھوڑ رہے ہیں اور چند تاجر جو صوبے، بالخصوص کوئٹہ میں اغواء برائے تاوان کے بڑھتے ہوئے واقعات کے نتیجے میں یہاں خود کو غیر محفوظ تصور کرتے ہیں۔
بلوچستان کے حالات
"ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے نوجوانوں نے جس طرح سنگین خطرہ مول لیتے ہوئے پاکستان چھوڑنے کا فیصلہ کیا، اس سے بلوچستان میں ان پر ڈھائے جانے والے مظالم کی شدت کا اندازہ لگایا جا سکتا ہے"
ایچ آر سی پی
انسانی حقوق کمیشن کا کہنا ہے کہ کشتی کے عملے نے تقریباً ایک سو ستّر پاکستانیوں اور دیگر ممالک کے اسّی افراد کو اس وقت بے یارو مددگار چھوڑ دیا جب کشتی ایک شدید طوفان میں الٹ گئی۔
اس واقعے میں ہزارہ کمیونٹی کے کم از کم پچپن افراد ہلاک اور دیگر درجنوں پاکستانی لاپتہ ہیں۔
کمیشن نے اپنے بیان میں کہا ’حکومت، بلوچستان کے معاملات پر سنجیدگی سے تفصیلی نظر ڈالے اور ان اسباب کا خاتمہ کرے جن کے باعث نوجوان ظلم، عدم تحفظ ارو غربت سے بچنے کے لیے سنگین خطرات مول لے کر وطن چھوڑنے پر مجبور رہے ہیں۔‘
تنظیم کے مطابق حکومت کو ان لوگوں کی بھی شناخت کر کے ان کے خلاف قانونی کارروائی کرنی چاہیے جنہوں نے کشتی پر سوار مسافروں کو غیر قانونی طریقے سے بین الاقوامی سرحدیں پار کروائیں اور ان کی موت کا سبب بنے۔
’تمام شہریوں کی زندگی کو تحفظ فراہم کرنے کے لیے اپنے فرض کا ادارک کرتے ہوئے، حکومت کو فی الفور ہزارہ برادری پر ہونے والے ظلم کے سدباب کی راہیں بھی نکالنی چاہیے۔‘
اس کے علاوہ تنظیم نے متاثرہ خاندانوں سے اظہار ہمدردی کرتے ہوئے کہا کہ اس حقیقت سے قطع نظر کہ انڈونیشیا کے سمندر میں یہ نوجوان کیسے پہنچے، حکومت کو فوری طور پر متاثرہ خاندانوں کو اپنے پیاروں سے متعلق معلومات کی فراہمی ممکن بنانی چاہیے جب کہ زندہ بچ جانے والوں کی مدد کرنی چاہیے اور لاشوں کو وطن واپس لانے کا انتظام کرنا چاہیے۔
BBC URDU
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Uncertain endgame in Afghanistan
The country could do with more development and less fighting
TO the anxious question of what will happen to Afghanistan when foreign troops leave in 2014, Dr Abdul Qayum Mohmand had an unexpected answer. "Nothing will happen," the former University of Afghanistan assistant professor said. "Because nothing is happening now."...Continue Reading...
TO the anxious question of what will happen to Afghanistan when foreign troops leave in 2014, Dr Abdul Qayum Mohmand had an unexpected answer. "Nothing will happen," the former University of Afghanistan assistant professor said. "Because nothing is happening now."...Continue Reading...
HRCP demands govt action after Indonesia boat tragedy
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed deep sorrow at the death of at least 55 young men from Quetta’s Hazara community when a boat carrying around 250 people, 170 of them from Pakistan, capsized off Indonesia.
HRCP has called upon Islamabad to help the families learn about the fate of the passengers as well as urgently address reasons that force Hazaras and other people from Balochistan to leave Pakistan even in the face of grave danger to their lives.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the commission said, “Pakistani passengers from Balochistan were believed to be unemployed young men looking for a way to improve their life as well as businessmen who felt insecure amid growing incidents of kidnappings for ransom in the province, particularly in Quetta. HRCP sympathises with the bereaved families and would investigate the matter further.”
The statement read, “HRCP also calls upon the government to take a long hard look at the state of affairs in Balochistan and reflect on the reasons that compel young men to take such grave risks in order to escape persecution, insecurity and poverty. The government must also identify and punish those who contributed to the death of the boat’s passengers by illegally ferrying them across borders.” pr
Daily Times
HRCP has called upon Islamabad to help the families learn about the fate of the passengers as well as urgently address reasons that force Hazaras and other people from Balochistan to leave Pakistan even in the face of grave danger to their lives.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the commission said, “Pakistani passengers from Balochistan were believed to be unemployed young men looking for a way to improve their life as well as businessmen who felt insecure amid growing incidents of kidnappings for ransom in the province, particularly in Quetta. HRCP sympathises with the bereaved families and would investigate the matter further.”
The statement read, “HRCP also calls upon the government to take a long hard look at the state of affairs in Balochistan and reflect on the reasons that compel young men to take such grave risks in order to escape persecution, insecurity and poverty. The government must also identify and punish those who contributed to the death of the boat’s passengers by illegally ferrying them across borders.” pr
Daily Times
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